LaFleur: No update on James Conner, Tip Reiman

He’ll miss at least the first four weeks of the season. Reiman went down with a gruesome leg injury in Week 5 against the Titans and was put in an air cast. Hunter Long, who the Cardinals acquired at last cuts, will likely fill in Reiman’s role early on this season.

Conner will miss at least four games to start the year as he continues to work his way back from the ankle injury that ended his 2025 season. The team can designate him to return after Week 4. With Jeremiyah Love also banged up, Tyler Allgeier could be in for a hefty workload early in the season.

Conner suffered a season-ending ankle injury early in the 2025 season. He avoided the PUP list to start training camp but has yet to participate in 11-on-11 drills. With the season nearly two weeks away, it certainly doesn’t look like Conner will be available for Week 1. Trey Benson is on injured reserve and Jeremiyah Love is on the mend with an ankle issue of his own. It’s possible Tyler Allgeier earns a three-down role to open the season, making him a priority target for ZeroRB drafters.

It doesn’t sound like Conner has a great chance of being available for Week 1, and if he’s not yet able to fully practice it’s certainly on the table for Conner to start the year on injured reserve or the reserve/PUP list. Conner took a paycut this offseason and is due $2.35 million guaranteed in 2026 after suffering a season-ending injury in Week 3 last year.

The four running backs are Jeremiyah Love, Tyler Allgeier, James Conner, Trey Benson. Given the recent draft capital and financial investments in Love and Allgeier, those two are obviously locks to make the final squad. Conner, 31, and Benson, 24, seem like reasonable trade candidates. Both players’ seasons ended prematurely due to injury. Conner has one year left on his deal. Benson has two. Love should take over the starting role soon enough, but perhaps the RB2 battle could take a while to sort through. Weinfuss believes “Conner and Benson won’t roll over easily and give their jobs away.” If they do indeed keep four running backs, and one player were to miss time, this might make for a tough waiver wire read.

The Cardinals also placed CB Garrett Williams, LT Paris Johnson Jr. and TE Tip Reiman on the physically unable to perform list. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport did not specify whether these are active or reserve listings. Sweat let it be known he was unhappy in Arizona this offseason. He attended mandatory minicamp but did not practice. Williams suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture in December. Johnson missed time with a knee injury last year. Reiman (ankle) was expected to be “ready to roll” for training camp.

Reiman is expected to be an “important cog in the offense” this year, as a reliable blocker in the run game. Per Cardinals team reporter Darren Urban, LaFleur has, unprompted, mentioned Reiman multiple times this offseason. LaFleur told Urban that he had a lot of respect for Reiman as a prospect and was excited to inherit Reiman when he accepted the Cardinals’ head coaching vacancy this offseason. Reiman’s expected return is good news for both RB Jeremiyah Love and TE Trey McBride. He will provide extra help in the run game while fully freeing up McBride in play action. That said, it does not sound like Reiman will be fantasy-relevant at all this year.

Graziano could only be referring to James Conner and Trey Benson. He noted that Conner took a pay cut this offseason, which could signal that he’s still in the Cardinals’ plans, making a Benson deal potentially more likely. That seems unlikely, though, considering Arizona brought in Tyler Allgeier and Jeremiyah Love this offseason. Conner is still working off to the side with trainers at practice as he recovers from ankle surgery, but if he can return to the practice field soon then a trade could be in his future. Graziano mentioned the Bengals and Giants as teams that could be looking for running back help.

Conner suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 3 last year. Earlier this offseason, he agreed to a revised contract that pays him $2.35 million this year. The Cardinals signed RB Tyler Allgeier to a two-year, $12.25 million deal one day later, before spending the No. 3 overall pick on former Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love. If Conner can resume practicing soon, it might increase the odds of a running back-needy team acquiring him via trade.

Love will enter a crowded backfield alongside trusted veteran James Conner and free agent signing Tyler Allgeier. Love’s draft capital and his standout ability will give him a good shot at taking on lead back duties to start the 2026 season, though Allgeier and Conner will be involved. Love will be running behind one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines. A two-year starter for the Fighting Irish, 21-year-old (in May) Love (6’0/212) was without peer in this year’s running back draft class. Totaling 40 touchdowns in 28 games over the past two seasons, Love’s explosiveness is unmatched. His 52.9 percent breakaway rate in 2025 ranked No. 1 in the power four conferences, while his average 4.50 yards after contact trailed only one player nationally. Those fancy stats underscore a rare blend of vision, burst and contact balance. Although Love is indeed a home run hitter, he’s also a complete offensive weapon. His final year in South Bend saw him add to his ground statistics with 27 receptions for 280 yards and three scores, posting a superb 1.83 yards per route run. It was production that stressed linebackers in space. Love’s overall elusiveness spike from 2024 to 2025 reflects a runner who not only dodges the first hit but finishes with authority, combining lateral twitch with downhill violence.